Hey everybody,
I was looking at this 90 Rx7 vert with auto, and I really liked the car. It had a black leather interior in mint condition, no dents or scratches on the body, all stock, except for a stereo, and the top looked like its not very old, and its a FL car. The only thing that scares me is 128K miles on the clock. My friend rick had an 85 one, I know it has a different engine, but still its rotary, and it lost compression @ 65K miles. The guy who is selling this car (used car dealership) says that he doesnt know if it was rebuilt or no. Is it risky to buy this car for $4000 with this milleage?
All replies greatly appreciated.

 

The price is a little high, but not too bad.

Have the compression checked. If it has good numbers, and the oil is in decent condition, I wouldn't worry about the engine in any way.

 

most N/A 13b will last anywhere from 150k to 200k pending on how it was taken car of. Mine is at 143,XXX and still got near perfect compression.

 

I would worry more about the transmission than the engine. I have been searching far and wide for months for a good condition 1990-91 automatic (yes, I actually WANT an automatic, I'm sick of shifting) and I have yet to find one with over 120k miles that doesnt either A. have a bad tranny, or B. just got a new tranny put in (and then they want WAY too much for it).

I agree if the compression numbers are good (absolutely get it tested first) then I wouldnt worry so much about the engine.

 

I agree about the transmission dieing b4 the engine. it all depends on the previous owner. get a vechicle report to see how many owners its had and etc..............

 

Just as an FYI, the trend seems to be that autos often suffer from early engine death. This is because the automatic transmission is much "easier" on the engine, allowing carbon to build up and cause seals to stick, etc.

 

thanks for replies. Judging by overall condition of the car, she was well taken care of, but I dont feel like looking for a new tranny.
Oil in decent condition? Is it 2 hard to change oil in 13b? Sorry but I know very little about rotary engines.
And also, I did some reasearch on performance data for 90 vert, and i came up with 18 sec quarter mile times Its like slower than toyota echo! Is it true, or my resources were wrong?

 

Changing the oil on our cars is the same as any other car.

 

Sounds about right. It's an auto vert, making it the heaviest RX-7 ever built at around 3100 lbs. Given the weight, relatively low power (160 hp) and automatic tranny, it's a little on the slow side.

 

This car is probably 2 slow 4 me. I got really dissapointed when I found out that its an 18 sec car. It would be almost same like driving a rice can. Sporty look, but 18 sec time slips. I would really want something atleast in 15 sec range, so that I didnt have this feeling like the car is not moving when u step on the gas, which u can have after driving a high 13 sec car.
Thanks for all information anyways. Greatly appreciated.

 

good luck finding what you want, I hope you can find one